App for paying bus fare is planned for next year

New technology will accept current passes — and low-tech cash

Published 6:18 pm, Thursday, April 10, 2014

A view of the new Genfare FastFare fare box on a CDTA bus on Thursday, April 10, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. The new fare boxes are being installed in buses with a new design that splits the slot for dollar bills and coins. The new fare box is also smart card ready, upper right in photo, a function that CDTA plans to begin using within the next year. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union) less

A view of the new Genfare FastFare fare box on a CDTA bus on Thursday, April 10, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. The new fare boxes are being installed in buses with a new design that splits the slot for dollar bills ... more

A view of a CDTA bus at the company's garage seen here on on Thursday, April 10, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. New Genfare FastFare fare boxes are being installed on the company's buses. The new fare boxes are being installed in buses with a new design that splits the slot for dollar bills and coins. The new fare box is also smart card ready, a function that CDTA plans to begin using within the next year. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union) less

A view of a CDTA bus at the company's garage seen here on on Thursday, April 10, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. New Genfare FastFare fare boxes are being installed on the company's buses. The new fare boxes are being ... more

A view of the new Genfare FastFare fare box on a CDTA bus on Thursday, April 10, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. The new fare boxes are being installed in buses with a new design that splits the slot for dollar bills and coins. The new fare box is also smart card ready, a function that CDTA plans to begin using within the next year. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union) less

A view of the new Genfare FastFare fare box on a CDTA bus on Thursday, April 10, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. The new fare boxes are being installed in buses with a new design that splits the slot for dollar bills ... more

Sometime next year, you'll be able to pay your bus fare with your smartphone.

The Capital District Transportation Authority is rolling out new fare technology that will give riders more flexibility and CDTA more information about where it needs new routes and when demand is strongest. The system also can be used to identify and reward the authority's most frequent customers and introduce other promotions, a free ride on your birthday, for example.

New fare boxes are beginning to appear on buses, with installation expected to be completed in the next three to four weeks.

The fare boxes, while designed to handle the new payment systems, will also accept current CDTA passes.

And for those who still want to pay in cash, "your dollar bills will be less likely to jam" in the new fare boxes, said Carm Basile, the transit authority's CEO.

It has been two decades since CDTA introduced Swiper passes, in April 1994. Another upgrade to fareboxes was made in 2003.

Since then, smartphones have become ubiquitous, and apps are now a favorite way to buy train tickets, check in for airline flights and order books from Amazon.

More Information

CDTA in a recent survey found that eight in 10 passengers had a Web-enabled device such as a smartphone or tablet.

CDTA will have its own app, and passengers will be able to register, linking a credit or debit card to an account and increasing the stored value when it runs low, much like the system that E-ZPass uses. Registration isn't required, but will be necessary if passengers want to take advantage of these features, Basile said.

While smartphones will be one tool for boarding a bus, new stored-value cards will be another, using a "tap and go" feature in the new fareboxes. Customers can re-charge these cards on demand or through automatic topping up.

SPX Genfare of the Chicago suburb of Elk Grove Village is providing the system under a contract worth $7,337,400. The project is being paid for primarily with grants, according to CDTA.

New features will be introduced as the system is phased in and software and hardware are tested.

The base system is expected to be completed in the autumn of 2015.

Eventually, CDTA could enter cross-promotions with retailers and other businesses for discounts, Basile said.

While the fare structure likely won't change, he said, "we're going to try to incentivize" customers to switch from cash to the new system, which will be less expensive and more efficient for CDTA to administer.